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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23983111">Heartbreak</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/aworldoffandoms/pseuds/aworldoffandoms'>aworldoffandoms</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Open Heart (Visual Novels)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Heavy Angst, One Shot, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Swearing, Tumblr Ask Box Fic, Tumblr Prompt</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 19:42:35</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,545</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23983111</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/aworldoffandoms/pseuds/aworldoffandoms</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bryce comes to explain himself for what he’s done. Will Nicolette let him?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bryce Lahela/Main Character (Open Heart)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Heartbreak</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is a Bryce x MC one-shot this time. Fair warning - this one is going to huuuurt.</p><p>Prompt is in bold.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p></p><div class="">
  <p>Nicolette scrolls through her Instagram feed, liking a bunch of photos absentmindedly without actually looking at them. She has too much on her mind. Her heart aches. Her muscles are sore and she swears she’s been crying for three days straight with how much her face feels all puffy and red.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She’s disrupted from her idle viewing when there is a knock at the door. She heaves a deep breath before calling out to them. It’s probably Sienna or Aurora, however, she wasn’t sure why they were knocking considering they have keys. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Come in! It’s open.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The figure who steps through the door is the last person Nicolette expects to see and her mouth twists in displeasure. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>
    <strong>“What are you doing here?” </strong>
  </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bryce stands in the doorway awkwardly, his posture tense, the lines of his shoulders strung tight like a string pulled taut. The look on Nicolette's face makes his heart ache and makes him feel like shit again. Not that he<em> already</em> feels like shit. He hasn't slept in three days, he needs to wash his hair and the shadow on his jawline clues to the fact that he hasn't bothered to shave.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Nicolette stands for a few seconds, then steps back to let him in, the frown still evident on her face. She pads over to the kitchen, Bryce following close behind. He stands on the opposite side of the granite benchtop so he was a few metres away from her spot on the other end, he didn't want to stand near her because whenever he does she flinches away from him.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The air is stale and thick with tension, the clicking of the clock on the wall the only sound permeating the cloud of silence between them. He wants to get rid of the heaviness surrounding them both so Bryce opens his mouth to talk, wanting to apologise about what he did. To find any excuse to make it better but he can’t. He knows what he did was wrong. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He hates himself for doing it. He never thought he’d be one of<em> those</em> guys.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He sighs, running a hand through his hair, the dirty strands sticking up after his fingers left it and swung down to his side to rest limply against his thigh. There wasn't any time like the present to try and explain himself. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Look, Nicolette… I know that I can’t say anything to make this better but I do want you to know that I love you and I—” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Nicolette slams a hand against the benchtop, the sound reverberating around the room, making Bryce jump at the unexpected sound. Nicolette looks at him, her eyes shining with the unshed tears she promised herself she wouldn’t shed. Not for him. Not for this man who broke her heart so spectacularly.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Don’t try and say those words to me after what you did,” Nicolette tries to make her voice sound not as pathetic as it does but she can’t stop now after she’s started. She’ll wallow in her heartbreak later.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You broke whatever we had, Bryce. I loved you. I loved you so goddamn much that I was willing to follow you anywhere. Even follow you after our residencies finished at Edenbrook, to tell with everything else, but y’ know what?” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bryce swallows against the lump in his throat, knowing the words that will come out of her mouth. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“That isn't going to happen...at least not anymore…” Nicolette trails off, puffing out a bitter laugh. “Guess the jokes on me then, huh?” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bryce watches as she runs a hand through her hair, the bags underneath her eyes more prominent under the fluorescent lighting. His heart aches for her a little more because he knew that he’s the cause of it. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>There's a smile on her face but its not warm. It's thin, lifeless and self-loathing. “God. Listen to me. I'm not the kind of girl to get hung up on a guy like this! I'm the youngest junior fellow in a world-renowned diagnostics team for chrissake! I am a goddamn amazing doctor and here I am heartbroken over some guy. Pathetic.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Nicolette shakes her head, turning away from Bryce and closing her eyes, her thumb and forefinger against the bridge of her nose in frustration. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bryce's hands twitch to comfort her and he almost does, his feet moving closer to her before he stops himself. He doesn’t want to make the situation worse than it already is.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>The heavy silence falls on them again and he needs to say something otherwise he'll never have the courage to do it. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I never meant to hurt you like this, Nic. It was just a moment of weakness. I don't know what I was thinking.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Nicolette scoffs, turning around and pins Bryce with a glare so violent he has to take a step back. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“You blame this on a short moment of missing clarity? What the hell, Bryce? You think I'm fucking stupid or something?”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Of course I don't. I just want to state my case.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Nicolette spreads her arm out in a show of letting him do just that. “I'm not stopping you. Please, enlighten me about this lapse in judgement not that it’s really needed.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>It wasn't lost on Bryce the amount of sarcasm that’s dripping from her tone but Bryce sighs anyway and leans against the countertop, clearing his throat to speak. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“We were friends in high school and she just so happened to be in Boston for a tech conference and we bumped into each other at Donahue’s and we got talking, we laughed, we drank...a lot, and then the next thing I knew…” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Nicolette’s fists clench at her sides and Bryce can see her jaw working against her clenched teeth. He really shouldn’t be saying things like this but she said she wanted to hear so he’s telling her. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bryce takes a deep breath, running a despondent hand through his dark locks, grimacing as he says the next words. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“We slept together.” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>A sharp intake of breath is heard and Bryce snaps his head to the sound and what he finds makes his heart shatter all over again. He did this. He was making her feel this pain. Bryce could see the wave of emotion crash over her again and again. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bryce pushes away from his perch against the edge of the countertop and makes his way over to his girlfriend (ex-girlfriend?) and reaches out to comfort her but Nicolette recoils from his touch. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Don’t touch me.” Nicolette hisses, the venom in her voice thick and deadly. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>She moves over to the far corner of the kitchen, furthest away from him. She looks up at him, her face carefully blank but her voice plaintive. “Why, Bryce? Why is it you are having the guts to tell me this now when you could have told me a week ago? I had to find out from <em>Danny</em>...” Nicolette’s voice cracks and a small sob rips from her throat, tears tracking down her face in a steady stream. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He rubs the back of his neck in a nervous tick. Yeah, keeping it a secret didn’t work well. Nicolette’s been shutting him out for the past three days. He didn’t blame her. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“I know I should have told you straight away but...it just happened and it didn’t mean anything I swear. I never wanted to hurt you. I love you and she means nothing to me—”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Nicolette holds up a hand, her tears coming to a sudden stop as she stares at the man she thought would never hurt her, her green emerald eyes are iridescent in their beauty but also shows the pain of his words, the anger at his confession, the utter misery this has caused her. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bryce wants to throw up.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Don’t…” Nicolette says in a dangerously low voice, the tone of it on the verge of cracking into something less dignified that she wants it to. “<strong>Don’t do this to me</strong>, Bryce. Don’t say those words because you <em>have</em> hurt me, beyond even you can imagine.”</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Bryce flinches at the defeated tone in her voice and tears burn his eyes at the thought of this being the reason to lose her. He can’t lose her. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Please, Nicolette...I can’t lose you. Please.” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Nicolette breathes out a laugh, it wasn’t humorous at all. It’s cold and shallow.</p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>“Too late for that now, Bryce. You should have thought about how much I meant to you before you slept with another woman. Now, get out.” </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Nicolette points to the door, her face turned away from him as she shields her expression from him and he’s barred from those vivid green eyes that Bryce loves so much. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He resists the urge to push, to beg, to fight for her but he knows that it’s a losing battle. Nicolette Valentine was a stubborn woman and she wasn’t going to budge. He has to give her time and time he’ll give her. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>Pain like tiny shards of glass pierces his heart as he steps away from Nicolette, and out the door. He walks down the hall and winces as he hears the loud, painful sobs of the woman he loves, the heartbreak poignant and visceral. </p>
</div><div class="">
  <p>He’s really fucked up this time.</p>
</div>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Originally posted on Tumblr here:<br/>https://www.tumblr.com/dashboard/blog/aworldoffandoms/613740397043351552</p><p>Angst prompt list here:<br/>https://hnryycvll.tumblr.com/post/613228742244007936/a-n-g-s-t-prompt-list-ive-never-loved-you-i-told</p><p>Kudos or a comment will be greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading! :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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